Deer DNA used for first time in UK to prosecute poacher

4 February 2015 Last updated at 12:24

James Kennedy claimed he had shot a red deer hind lawfully at another location

DNA from a red deer has been used for the first time in the UK to help prosecute a poacher.

James Kennedy, 70, illegally shot and killed and then removed a deer from the Glenfinnan Estate in Lochaber.

He claimed to having shot it lawfully at another location, but scientists matched a blood stain in his van to remains he had left on the estate.

Kennedy was fined £100 and ordered to pay compensation of £70 at Fort William Sheriff Court on Tuesday.

He had earlier pled guilty to killing the deer, gralloching it - removing its internal organs, head and lower legs - and taking the carcass away.

The incident happened near Glenfinnan on 2 February last year.

SASA scientists examined deer hair and also a blood stain found in Kennedy's van

Police, who had been alerted to a suspected poacher by members of West Lochaber Deer Management Group, stopped Kennedy's van and asked him about the deer carcass in the back of the vehicle.

Continued ...

Notorious wildlife dealer caught red-handed in India

August 2012. A much wanted, suspected notorious illegal wildlife trader and poacher has been caught red handed carrying a Tiger skin and skeleton, two live turtles, ivory and some poaching equipment in Haryana, India. 

The arrest was made in August 2012 in Gurgaon, Haryana, during a joint operation undertaken by Wildlife SOS, CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation), NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority), WCCB (Wildlife Crime Control Bureau) and Haryana Forest Department with assistance from the Haryana Police. 

Out on bail
This is not the first time the suspect has been apprehended. He was previously arrested in 2009 in Gurgaon for possessing a Tiger skin and skeleton but was released on bail and disappeared. He has been sought in connection with a number of other cases.

MKS Pasha, Associate Director-TRAFFIC in India said that the seizure and the arrest is a major blow to the illegal wildlife trade nexus prevailing in India. This operation also clearly indicated the effectiveness of multi-agency collaborative efforts to fight wildlife crime in India.

Ravi Singh, SG&CEO-WWF-India further commented, "We would like to congratulate the enforcement agencies that directed the operation."

TRAFFIC India/WWF-India facilitated co-ordination among various agencies, along with Wildlife SOS, for effective action.

In India the Tiger is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Hunting of or trade in the species and its parts is prohibited. Most of the turtle species and ivory are also protected under the Act and cannot be traded in India.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/wildlife-trafficker.html

Family and friends say farewell to king of the poachers - via Andreas Trottman

A PROLIFIC poacher has been laid to rest – with a wreath shaped like a salmon and bullets in his grave. 

Archie “Nooky” Clark’s son Colin dropped the Magnum .22 ammo into his plot so his dad – known as the Highland Robin Hood – could “go hunting in Heaven”.

The 52-year-old had made a last request that he be transported from the Church of Scotland in his home village of Fort Augustus to the local cemetery on the banks of Loch Ness without a hearse.

Instead, he wanted his coffin, carved with a stag’s head, ratchet-strapped into the back of Colin’s black pick-up truck.

A real pair of antlers from the last stag Nooky shot and a floral tribute in the shape of a salmon also ­decorated the coffin.

Colin said: “He was norun-of-the-mill dad. We gave him a grand send-off and he must have been looking down withhappy satisfaction.

“I threw a handful of Magnum .22 bullets into the grave on top of the coffin so my dad can keep up his hunting in the hereafter.

“After the burial, we all went back to the local legion club in Fort Augustus for a drink or 10. For some, the wake lasted three or four days.”

Nooky, who worked as a plant driver in his main job, passed away on May 1 after a long battle with liver cancer. He had planned many elements of his funeral.

He had been a poacher all his life but was so well-loved that the congregation at the funeral included police officers and landowners.

One pal said: “For Nooky, it was the thrill of poaching and the skill required to hook or net a salmon or shoot a stag in the hours of ­darkness on a laird’s estate which gave him a buzz. Money was not the motivation.

“He may have sold the odd salmon or piece of venison at the back door of a hotel but he gave away most of it, particularly to old folk in winter.”

The music at the church was played by Nooky’s brother-in-law, acclaimed band leader and musician Fergie MacDonald.

Fergie said: “We played The Dark Island and Loch Maree Islands, which is a deerstalker’s and gamekeeper’s favourite, all about going to the high hills with a rifle.

“I stalked with Archie for almost 40 years and he was an expert – powerful and fit. He could carry an 18st stag on his back for a mile.”

Nooky’s unconventional life was also illustrated by the fact he and his second wife Morna, 40, lived next door to his first wife Dawn.

Colin added: “He was carried out of the church to his favourite tune, Kenny Rogers’s The ­Gambler.

“Although he had many narrow escapes with police and game-keepers over the years, my dad was never convicted of poaching. He was that good at it and his dad as well.”

The service was the first Scottish funeral for the church’s new German minister, 29-year-old Rev Tabea Baader, who arrived in March.

She said: “I asked what was the background to his nickname but nobody was prepared to tell me.

“But I gather he was a bit of a lady’s man in his younger days.”

Morna added: “It used to be nerve-wracking for me at night waiting for Archie to come home safely from one of his escapades.

“He will be very sadly missed.” 

From Sunday Mail 20th May 2012